In many installations, pairs of doors are utilized which are hinged to a door opening or frame at the outside edges thereof. The active door, in which a central latch is installed, is normally used in passing through the door opening. The inactive door, which contains a strike for the center latch, is normally held closed by top and bottom bolts. To ensure proper clearance of an astragal, which may be mounted on either or both doors, or of other hardware devices, a door closing coordinator is required. The coordinator holds the active door open until the inactive door reaches a closing position. Such door coordinators may comprise a pair of arms extending from a common pivot such that the active door is held open until the inactive door pivots the arms upwardly to allow the active door to close. Such an arrangement is shown in U.S. Pat. Re. 29107, assigned to the same Assignee as this patent.
Other types of door coordinators, as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,822,506 and 3,895,461, provide the proper closing sequence by utilizing a holding member, for the active door, that is blocked by a rod which is released by a trigger or lever upon being struck by the inactive door.
The present invention relates to door coordinators of the latter type, and provides a new, improved, and more durable construction, and further includes an override feature for closing the active door prior to the inactive door, upon application of a force exceeding a predetermined level, so as to prevent damage to the door and/or the door coordinator. In some forms of the invention, provision is made for cooperation with various top latch devices.